F E E T O N G R O U N D, HEAD I N T H E C L O U D S

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2 F E E T O N G R O U N D, HEAD I N T H E C L O U D S ב ר ו ך א ת ה י י א לה ינ ו מ ל ך ה עו ל ם, רו ק ע ה א ר ץ ע ל ה מ י ם Blessed are you Hashem our God, King of the universe, who spreads the earth upon the waters Hurricane Sandy! Who doesn t remember the water devastation! "The ocean is in the road, there are trees down everywhere. I ve never seen it this bad." "The Hudson River came in and filled half of Hoboken like a bathtub" FEET ON SOLID GROUND Talmud: Brachos 60b When you put your feet on the ground- you should say the blessing of who spreads the earth upon the waters תלמוד בבלי מסכת ברכות דף ס עמוד ב כי נחית לארעא, לימא: ברוך רוקע הארץ על המים Talmud: Tamid 32a Even experienced sailors only feel safe when they make landfall and put their feet on the ground. תלמוד בבלי מסכת תמיד דף לב עמוד א כל נחותי ימא לא מיתבא דעתיהון עד דסלקין ליבשתא. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THIS BLESSING AND DRY LAND? Morning Brachos Page 1

3 THE MIRACLE OF BOUNDRIES Bereishis chapter 1 5) And God called the heavens- sky and there was an evening and a morning day 2. 6) And God said, let the waters gather from under the sky into one place and dry land will be visible and it was so. בראשית פרשת בראשית פרק א ח( ו י ק ר א א לה ים ל ר ק י ע ש מ י ם ו י ה י ע ר ב ו י ה י ב ק ר יו ם שנ י: פ ט( ו י אמ ר א לה ים י ק ו ו ה מ י ם מ ת ח ת ה ש מ י ם א ל מ קו ם א ח ד ו תר א ה ה י ב ש ה ו י ה י כן The super-storm forced coastal water surges from Florida to Maine - with parts of New York City seeing the worst flooding. Recorded water level values there exceeded 9 feet above the Mean Higher High Water line Ramban Commentary The waters will gather from under the heavens- The depths, which were water and dust, like the murky waters mixed up. He decreed on the waters that they should gather in one place, surrounded on all sides, and He decreed on the dust that it should ascend until it appeared on the water and it dried up, and the dry land would be fit to settle, and so it says to spread out the land on the waters. And these were two decrees were done by the will of God, opposite of their nature, for it is fitting to honor the dirt and to degrade the water, to be the pillar of the earth, and the water covers it from all sides. And therefore it says the water will gather from under the heavens, meaning to a low place, and it says that the dry land will be visible רמב "ן בראשית פרשת בראשית פרק א ט( יקוו המים מתחת השמים - היה התהום שהוא מים ועפר כעין המים העכורים, וגזר על המים שיקוו במקום אחד מסובב כל הפאות, וגזר על העפר שיעלה עד שיראה על המים וייבש, ותהיה יבשה שטוחה ראויה לישוב, וכן כתוב לרוקע הארץ על המים )תהלים קלו ו והנה הן שתי גזרות, כלומר שני ענינים נעשים בחפץ אלהים הפך מן הנאות בטבעם, כי הראוי לכבדות העפר ולקלות המים כנגדה, להיות עמוד הארץ אמצעי, והמים מכסים עליה מקיפים אותה מכל צד. ועל כן אמר יקוו המים מתחת השמים, כלומר אל מקום שפלות, ואמר ותראה היבשה WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO CREATE SEPARATIONS AND BOUNDARIES ACCORDING TO THE RAMBAN? Morning Brachos Page 2

4 CONSIDER HURRICANE SANDY, WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE BOUNDRIES WERE BROKEN? Unparenting: Parents Raising Kids without Rules? BY TRACY A. STANCIEL, DECEMBER 5, 2012 Letting your kids do whatever they want is so extreme to me that I was almost speechless when I read about it. There are parents who believe that they should not tell their kids what to do. According to a story in Friday magazine, Dayna & Joe Martin are raising their children with no rules. Raising kids without rules seems like an oxymoron, because if you are raising your kids there are rules and boundaries. They take the term "hippie" to a whole new level. The kids are 13, 11, 7 and 4 years old. Their children have no rules. When I say no rules, I mean no rules. These kids don't have to attend school and they are not home schooled. If they want to learn something, they can choose to pick up a book. They can eat whatever and whenever they want. There are no chores and no punishments. The mother has said The kids come and go as they please, because who am I to tell them when they have to go to bed? Umm, you are their parent! There are so many things that can be said about this story. My brain is overwhelmed. The article states: The Martins unusual approach to parenting is perfectly legal in New Hampshire, US, where they live. Dayna started following it when Devin was born in At school, Joe and I hated being told what we had to study and resented not being able to concentrate on things we were interested in. I was depressed and rebelled. My grades suffered as I simply wasn t interested in what I was being forced to learn. My parents were frustrated, but when they understood why I was behaving the way I was, they were totally behind me. I graduated high school, unlike Joe who dropped out three months before he was due to graduate." First of all, I was unaware that there was a state in this country that allowed parents to opt out of providing their children with an education. Second, these parents seemed like a couple of spoiled brats when they were younger. What kid has been totally happy and on board with what they were being forced to learn in school. Parents, the next time your kid comes home and says "I hate math", just tell him that he doesn't have to learn math anymore. Let me know how that will go over with your child's school. The mother says that her kids are just as smart as other kids their age. I was wondering how she knew that because they don't go to school, but later in the article she says that they are friends with other families that have the same life style. So basically, they have no clue Morning Brachos Page 3

5 whether or not their kids are actually smart because they hang out with other kids who don't go to school and are not home schooled. This is such a disservice to these children. Part of being a parent means that you provide, guidance, boundaries and discipline. If these kids ever decide to leave their parent's home, they will not be prepared to function in the real world because they won't know boundaries. How will they keep a job if they think that they can do whatever they want? These children are being raised, groomed or allowed to live a life of entitlement. They can do whatever they want without consequences. I think that's a recipe for disaster. What would your household be like if you went to a no rules, no school policy today Boundaries are important to create freedom. Without boundaries the world is chaotic. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS FAMILY? DO YOU THINK THE ARTICLE WAS FAIR AND BALANCED? FREEDOM FOR WHAT? Misha: Avos 6 2) And the luchos were the handiwork of God, they were written by God, the writing of God was engraved on the Luchos. Don t read it Charus- engraved rather Cheirus Freedom. Because you are not a free person unless you are involved in the study of the Torah. משנה מסכת אבות פרק ו. והלוחות מעשה אלהים המה והמכתב מכתב אלהים הוא חרות על הלוחות אל תקרא חרות אלא חירות שאין לך בן חורין אלא מי שעוסק בתלמוד תורה HOW DOES THE APPROACH OF THE MISHNA IN AVOS ADDRESS THE ARTICLE ABOVE? Without boundaries, without rules, the world is chaotic. Society needs rules to function. Likewise, water needs borders, when the water outruns its parameters utter devastation and chaos transpires. Morning Brachos Page 4

6 MAINTAINED STATUS QUO The source for this blessing is found in Tehilim: Notice that the language is in the present tense. Tehilim 136 6) Who spreads the earth on the water His kindness is eternal תהלים פרק קלו ו( ל ר ק ע ה אר ץ ע ל ה מ י ם כ י ל עו ל ם ח ס ד ו Radak s commentary Who spreads out: This is a reminder of creation of land, what is the kindness? That he nullified the nature of the water, whose nature is to go over the land as it was in the beginning. It initially covered half the globe and in His kindness he gathered it to one place to reveal dry land to create life and vegetation on it. And to spread means: that he gave domain to the land over the water, even thought the water is higher than the land, he gave the land a position that it would be higher so to speak than the water so that the water would not pass over the land. That He made the sand as a border to the sea that it shall not be trespassed as an everlasting law and this is wondrous. רד "ק תהלים פרק קלו ו( לרוקע. זכר מבריאת הארץ, מה שהוא חסד מוחלט מאתו, שביטל טבע המים, שהיה טבעם להיותם על הארץ, כמו שהיו מתחילה, וכמו שהם בחצי הכדור, והוא בחסדו הקוה אותם אל מקום אחד, ונראית היבשה, להיות החיים והצמחים עליה. וזה החסד הוא לעולם, שאף על פי שמבול הציף המים על היבשה, לא היה אלא לזמן מועט לבדו, לנקמת הרשעים. ועם כל אלה עשה חסד, והשאיר בתחבולה מיני החיים, וכבר נשבע שלא יהיה עוד כל ימי הארץ המבול )בראשית ט, יא(, הנה כי לעולם חסדו. ופירוש לרקע, אמר, שנתן שטח הארץ על המים. ואעפ"י שהמים גבוהים על הארץ, נתן הוא שיעור שתהיה הארץ כאילו היא גבוהה על המים, שלא יעברו על הארץ, כמו שאמר )משלי ח, כט(: ומים לא יעברו פיו. כי הוא נתן חול גבול לים חק עולם ולא יעברנהו )ירמיה ה, כב(, וזה מנפלאותיו: The creation of boundaries needs to be constantly maintained. We are reminded of this in this tehillim. WHY DO YOU THINK WE ONLY REALLY TAKE NOTICE OF GOD AND HIS KINDNESSES WHEN THEY SEEM TO BE ABSENT? Morning Brachos Page 5

7 FEET ON GROUND HEAD IN THE CLOUDS Nefesh Hachaim The idea of the image of the ladder whose feet are implanted to the ground, it doesn't say implanted in the ground, but rather to the ground, meaning that the primary part was the top which was in the heavens, and from there it would descend until it hit the earth. And this is the living soul of man, that he becomes more noble, so to speak, from the breath of His (God s) mouth, and from there it descends like a ladder and it descends and connects with the spirit, and the spirit with the soul, until it comes down to this world in a person's body. And so it says in the Zohar in Naso that He blew life into his soul, meaning that the ladder represents the spirit of life. And Godly angels were ascending and descending it, it is the living soul of the worlds and the power of the ministering angels, for all their ascensions, descents, and the way they act, is totally dependent upon the leanings of the actions, speech, and thought in the body of a person at any moment. And that which it says that they ascend and then descend for the main thing in Torah is to always go up and then the spiritual light will come down from the upper world. נפש החיים ACCORDING TO THE NEFESH HACHAIM- WHAT DO OUR FEET TOUCHING THE GROUND REPRISENT? WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT- HEAD IN CLOUDS OR FEET ON THE GROUND? CONCLUDING THOUGHTS This bracha is about feeling safe that there is dry land to rest your feet. The bracha reminds us of the importance of boundaries, both physically in terms of the water and in terms of our behavior. We are reminded that it is not simply a matter of ancient history when God created the world that it functions properly, but each moment of balance is a kindness that He continues to support and sustain the world. The Nefesh Hachaim reminds us that whilst we should enjoy the safety of our feet on the ground, we need to constantly look upwards and dream to strike a balance. Morning Brachos Page 6